At least as early as the mid-1980s, sectional roof ridge vents designed to be affixed across an open ridge, or peak, of a roof to provide a path for the circulation of air were commercially available in the United States. Typically, the vents were injection-molded of high density polyethylene in four foot lengths and included an elongate top wall capable of accommodating the pitch of the roof and a pair of opposed outer sidewalls depending from peripheral longitudinal edges of the top wall. Each of the outer sidewalls had a plurality of ventilation openings and an upturned flange functioning as a wind baffle. The vents also included a plurality of brace members for supporting the top wall of the vent a spaced distance from the roof. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,095,810 and 5,122,095 disclose sectional roof ridge vents similar in construction to those described above.
During installation of the above referenced sectional roof ridge vents, a plurality of the vents are secured end-to-end on the roof ridge longitudinally from one end of the roof ridge to an opposite end of the roof ridge and cap shingles are applied overlying the top walls of the vents. Separately manufactured end plugs are then utilized to close the open ends of the vents at the opposite ends of the roof ridge to prevent the entry of weather, insects, and the like. For example, an end plug made of foam, filter material, or plastic can be applied to close the ends of the vents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,502 issued to Smith and U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,761 issued to MacLeod disclose sectional roof ridge vents having integrally formed end walls. The Smith patent discloses the use of an accordion-pleated end wall having a plurality of pleats sealingly joined in sequence to each other. The Smith patent states that the pleats permit the vent to flex and accommodate varying roof pitches while still maintaining a sealed end wall without any gaps, slots, or holes extending through the end wall. In contrast, the MacLeod patent discloses an end wall formed by a plurality of separate wall sections spaced-apart by open gaps. The spaced apart planar wall segments pivot toward each other and overlap to form a substantially closed end wall when the vent is flexed to accommodate the pitch of a roof.
Other examples of sectional roof ridge vents are provided by U.S. Pat. No.: 1,717,728 issued to Moore; U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,031 issued to Lee; U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,183 issued to Seymour; U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,500 issued to Bonforte; U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,104 issued to Honholt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,214 issued to Roose; U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,070 issued to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,170 issued to Meyer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,047 issued to Smith et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,263 issued to Belden; U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,657 issued to Sells; U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,399 issued to Cunning; U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,290 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,862 issued to Wolfert; U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,950 issued to Rudeen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,445 issued to Mankowski; U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,037 issued to Tubbesing et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,692 issued to Shuert; U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,041 issued to Kasner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,579 issued to Rotter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,076 issued to Schiedegger et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,269 issued to Hansen.
While the sectional roof ridge vents disclosed in the above referenced patents may function satisfactorily under certain circumstances, there is a need for an improved sectional roof ridge vent having an integrally formed end wall which does not require the use of a separately installed end plug and which readily flexes to accommodate a wide range of roof pitches. Preferably, the vent should be capable of ready installation using standard sized 13/4 inch roofing nails fired by standard roofing nail guns. The vent should be adequately reinforced to prevent unwanted compression and should be properly sized to ensure that the standard size nails penetrate to a sufficient depth into the underlying roof deck. In addition, the vents should be capable of endwise mating, should prevent the entry of weather, insects and the like into the ridge opening, and should be capable of cost-efficient manufacture.